Since its launch in 2006 there has been no way to officially ‘own’ a recruitment brand or company name on Twitter. This has led to numerous copycat accounts and confusion for candidates who are searching for the right company or careers feed and are met with multiple options.
It’s equally frustrating for companies who are working hard to try and build their official recruitment presence on Twitter and lose candidates to unofficial accounts.
Good news for all Twitter users
Just four weeks ago Twitter added a facility called account ‘verification’. This means a Twitter feed can be verified by Twitter, which is then clearly indicated to all users by a blue tick that appears next to the name (see below).
Why verify a Twitter account?
There are a lot of advantages to having the small blue tick including:
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Candidates will immediately identify the account as authentic, trust the content and engage.
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It’s a signal that tweets are of public interest and the account should be followed.
An account may be verified if it is determined to be of public interest. Typically this includes accounts maintained by public figures and organisations in music, TV, film, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas.
How to get an account verified?
Accounts are more likely to be verified if:
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The Twitter account name (i.e. @name) reflects the real name of the company.
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The profile and/or header photo reflects the company’s branding i.e. an official logo.
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The email address associated with the account is a company email address, rather than a personal one.
When submitting an account verification, Twitter will also ask why the account should be verified. Our recommendation here is to include your recruitment brand message or mission. Also, ensure you provide URLs direct to the careers site or careers section of the company website.
Our top 3 tips to manage your Twitter account:
1. Create Tweets that don’t include links
Not every tweet you post has to contain a link. Research shows that tweets without links get more engagement.
Within recruitment its very easy to link to job descriptions or a website but IF you limit the number of these types of tweets and create others that don’t have links, you’ll be adding value to your tweets that do contain links.
2. Post at the best time for YOUR audience
You can identify the best times to tweet to your audience by using tools such as Twitter Analytics and Tweriod. These indicate when your audience are online and provide insight into when most people engage with you.
You can also use Hootsuite’s automatic scheduling tool which automatically publishes your tweets at optimum times.
3. Use images
Research shows that tweets perform better if there is an image. They are more eye-catching and stand out to your audience. If you can use an image in every tweet, do, if not try to include imagery in the majority.